"Through the air" by Heikki Kulta

Through the air

Turun Sanomat 21.8 2010 22:56:06

Kolumni 21.8.

They have never managed to mold rally into a speed entertainment that would attract the big audience. It's hard work to follow the rally on the place too because there isn't any live footage. The 'forest' rally has never really been any tv-genre.

Citroen offered a luxury opportunity for a few selected media- and pr-people on Saturday. We were flown by a helicopter to a couple of stages to watch the dashing top cars.

A co-driver who had once won the championship was also a part of our group and he kindly adviced us how one is supposed to drive at that particular stage.

I plodded together with Kimi Räikkönen's manager Steve Robertson through a fenced pasture to wonder how on earth a gravel part is part of a tarmac rally. We saw only the rear mirrors of Loeb, Räikkönen and Co. when they dashed from the bottom uphills.

On the second stage we did get about a two kilometer's view and an interesting hairpin from where they turned using the handbrake.

When we arrived there in a helicopter those 50 people who had chosen that particular place turned around and started to take pictures and videos of us instead of the rally cars. I think they thought we were somekind of VIP-group and I'm sure the whole group envied our vehicle.

After witnessing the mutual fighting between F1-drivers one can only wonder how well the rally drivers get along.

Of course it's because of the fact that in rally you don't drive against a man with flying sparks, you drive against time. It doesn't lead to conflicts - but on the other hand it does exclude the delicious glowing about battle situations which without doubt has fed F1's marketing value as a spectator-magnet.

Nowadays rally is very poorly sponsored compared to F1 and that's the reason why it has been put together in such a poor way. Out of the big payers Red Bull at least has been disappointed in how small the visibility of WRC-rally is.

Jyväskylä is the mighty crown of the rally world and in it's own class when it comes to atmosphere. It is a superfast rally and the flying cars only increase it's fascination. On gravel you drive faster than you even should be able to drive with these cars.

Germany's rally is also very demanding and fast. The roads in Trier are so narrow that the rally speed feels stunning fast - if you could only see more of it with your own eyes.

Trier/Heikki Kulta

Fonte: Turun Sanomat/Tradução para Inglês: Nicole

Mais um excelente texto do jornalista finlandês que gosta de falar sobre detalhes que nós, que não estamos lá, não podemos ver.

Beijinhos, Ice-Ludy